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Saturday, March 7, 2015

Lent Photo a Day: Speak

I didn’t write much for yesterday’s Photo a Day topic,
“beloved.” I simply chose a photograph of the people who are most beloved to
me. Sometimes words are not needed to get a message across. In fact, sometimes
words obscure a message. Sometimes it’s better to speak without actually
speaking.

There are many times when a friend or family member needs
comforting and words are meaningless, and sadness is too great for words.
Instead, an arm around the shoulders, a wordless hug, a clasped hand, a
proffered shoulder to cry on, a silent squeeze of the hand can all say much
more than words ever could. “I’m here for you,” “I’m so sorry,” “I wish I could
take the pain away,” “I want to help” are all spoken but unspoken in a simple
gesture. Sometimes it is joy rather than sadness that cannot be expressed in
speech. “It’s not cancer,” “I’m so happy for you,” “He’s going to make it,”
“She said ‘yes’,” are sometimes better said by a gesture than by a word.

They say that “actions speak louder than words,” and that’s
true, although sometimes it’s not so much that they speak louder, but that they
speak more eloquently. Emotions are subtle, tricky things, and sometimes words
are not sufficient to express them. And many of us who are not comfortable with
expressing our emotions verbally are able to express them through a gesture or
even a look. How many of us remember being a teenage girl experiencing your
first heartbreak, and your dad not knowing what to say but just hugging you and
letting you cry? Or coming home having failed a test that you studied so hard
for, and your mom squeezing your shoulder and giving you a sympathetic look
without saying a word? It’s easy to say the wrong thing, but a simple gesture
of love and support is hard to screw up. Sometimes not speaking is the best way
to speak.